Rising Seas Begin To Erase Costa Rica's "Little Jamaica" On Nation's Caribbean Coast
PLAYA COCLES, Costa Rica, May 24 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A s towering waves smashed onto Costa Rica's Cocles beach, sucking away much of its sand, surf instructor Leo Downer was scared the coastal road, along with his Toyota car, would be washed into the Caribbean by the ferocious February storm. Low boulders now sit in place to help shelter Cocles, with its reggae bar and cafes serving rice and beans, where tourists cycle past fruit stalls selling lychees and soursop and signs warn of sloths crossing the beach road.
But as rising seas threaten parts of the tropical eastern coast, dubbed "Little Jamaica", many worry that the visitors who generate numerous jobs in the area - known for its palm-fringed beaches and exotic wildlife - could go elsewhere. "This year was the craziest I've ever seen... we lost everything - there was no sand, there was nothing, the water was hitting right here, all those trees fell down," said Downer, pointing to the nearby road amid a torrential downpour.
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Scientists say parts of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast have lost at least 20 metres (66 ft) of beach in the past 15 years, as creeping sea levels and changing wave patterns cause coastal erosion, often exacerbated by coral reef degradation.
They warn that higher seas and increasingly unpredictable conditions could start to damage infrastructure and take a heavy economic and social toll. In addition to the creeping effects of climate change, extreme events like hurricanes are likely to worsen the impact on many coastal communities, said Borja Reguero, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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